Smartphones are pretty wonderful. But for a moment, ignore the ability to message family and friends, search the web, and play games, even if it is all thanks to one handy, portable device.

As the old saying goes, “if you’re not paying for it, you are the product.” Whether you paid for your smartphone outright, or have it on contract, there’s a further price to be paid for the conveniences you use. Services can track you through your device.

Remember the 1998 film, Enemy of the State in which Will Smith is on the run after being framed for murder by National Security Agency (NSA) officers? Smith’s character has to be debugged before the most famous chase scene ensues. Nowadays, he’d have to ditch his cell phone too. Indeed, the NSA wasn’t a huge fan of the movie when it was released, with one official reassuring the public that they’re not the Bad Guys:

“Unfortunately, truth isn’t always as riveting as fiction and creative license may mean that ‘the NSA,’ as portrayed in a given production, bears little resemblance to the place we all work.”

The Police

By extension, the police can trace your location either in real time or after the event — or at least in some circumstances. Cell site location data is a handy tool in the police’s arsenal: such evidence can prove a suspect was in the vicinity of crime scenes.

As well as tracing smartphone locations using cell towers, law enforcers can use devices that act as a “middle man” between the cell phone and the service providers’ towers. These track a smartphone via its International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI), a unique identifier — typically 15-digits — found on all phones that connect to networks, or Electronic Serial Number (ESN).

Such IMSI-catchers can be fitted to cars, airplanes, and helicopters.

The problem is, the law regarding this matter is often a gray area, especially when cases make it to court. It’s up to individual states to determine whether cell site location data can be permissible without a warrant. In some states, like Illinois, New Jersey, and Indiana, a warrant is needed for real-time tracking but not retroactive inspections; in others, including California, Utah, and Montana, police need a warrant for both.

Some states haven’t even made binding decisions. And for much of America, location information is completely unprotected. This worryingly long list includes Washington, Arkansas, New Mexico, Alaska, Wisconsin, and Idaho.

This data could be the cherry on top for a prosecutor, but The New Yorker‘s Douglas Starr says it’s not always so clear-cut:

“Rather than pinpoint a suspect’s whereabouts, cell-tower records can put someone within an area of several hundred square miles or, in a congested urban area, several square miles. Yet years of prosecutions and plea bargains have been based on a misunderstanding of how cell networks operate.”

You can, at least, delete data from specific days or even individual points on the map without getting rid of all the other counters.

Alternatively, you can simply order the app not to collate your information. On iOS, you simply need to open the app, and go on Settings > Privacy > Location > Location History, then tick Do Not Store. On Android, you can use pretty much the same method, but further disable the ability for your whole Google account or specifically on any of the listed devices.

Otherwise, you can deny the app access to your location… but that does completely defeat the point of it.

Shops and Malls

Let’s say you’re debating whether to buy a shirt. You wander away, but you’re drawn back to it. Then your phone urges you on: there’s 10% off in the clothing department. Sold! And while you’re at it, you might as well get a new pair of jeans too…

More than 90% of American consumers use coupons each year, and this is fuelled by impulse buying, which generates an estimated $4 billion in sales each year in America alone. Kit Yarrow, who studies consumer psychology at the Golden Gate University, says:

“People tend to purchase impulsively for one of two reasons: an exciting product or an exciting price. A decade ago, a swoon-worthy product was usually the cue. Today, people are more likely to swayed by jaw-dropping prices… Wait 20 minutes before buying. It takes about that long to ‘cool off’ when we find a hot purchase.”

In order to save your data usage, your smartphone sends off signals to automatically connect to free Wi-FiHow to Get Free Wi-Fi Almost AnywhereHow to Get Free Wi-Fi Almost AnywherePublic wireless networks are becoming more and more popular as a means of attracting people to a particular business or service, and this is just one of the many ways in which free (or almost...Read More. Retailers use beacons located around stores to determine your whereabouts, and make those offers. Fortunately, all you need to do is turn off your Wi-Fi.

Keeping Track?

With any modern-day convenience, there will be pros and cons, and being traceable is a side-effect of having a smartphone with you wherever you go.

It’s not always a bad thing: it can act as a GPS, it can help the police, and it can result in some great offers at your favourite stores. Nonetheless, it’s understandable if all this makes you somewhat creeped out.

Do the positives outweigh the negatives? Have you taken extreme measures to avoid detection? Do you carry a copy of Nineteen Eighty-Four with you instead of a smartphone? Let us know in the comments!

When he’s not watching television, reading books ‘n’ Marvel comics, listening to The Killers, and obsessing over script ideas, Philip Bates pretends to be a freelance writer. He enjoys collecting everything.